(To Peter Westbrook, "harnessing anger" means controlling ...)
To Peter Westbrook, "harnessing anger" means controlling one's fury and channeling it in a positive direction. Westbrook's success in what he once called "that strange white sport" is really just one expression of the self-discipline that has led him to beat the odds, again and again. In Harnessing Anger, Westbrook tells how he came to be the first African American to win a national gold title in sabre fencing. The son of an African-American father and a Japanese mother, Peter was raised by his mother alone in poverty in a Newark ghetto. Becoming a fencer at an early age gave him the confidence and the discipline to use an ancient martial art to his advantage both in swordplay and when facing the vicissitudes of daily life in the inner city. The autobiography of this six-time Olympian, 13-time U.S. National champion and the only book on his amazing life, Harnessing Anger tells us how Westbrook has overcome strong adversaries on and off the fencing mat.
Peter Westbrook is an American fencer and fencing instructor. He is also a former United States champion and 1984 Olympic medalist.
Background
Ethnicity:
Westbrook's father was African-American, and his mother was Japanese.
Peter Westbrook was born on April 16, 1952, in St. Louis, Missouri. His parents had met while his father, an African American Army corporal, was stationed in Kobe, Japan after World War II. His mother was part of the wealthy Japanese Catholic minority, and her father worked for the Japanese government in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. By the time Peter celebrated his first birthday, his sister Vivian was born, and the family had moved to Newark, where his father worked as a bartender. The family remained in Newark for the next 12 years.
Domestic abuse marred Westbrook’s early childhood years, and his parents divorced by the time he was five. His mother earned a meager salary assembling television picture tubes.
Peter was harassed by other children because of his mixed race, so Westbrook was given five dollars by his mother to attend a fencing class. She hoped it would take him away from the treacherous streets of Newark. New Jersey; in 1994, his mother was beaten to death on those same streets.
Education
Westbrook's mother found employment cleaning the priest’s rectory at St. Peter’s Catholic School and serving drinks at the parish bingo in exchange for her son’s school tuition. Although his family was poor, Westbrook remembers living in a comfortable home imbued with his mother’s strong values. His mother instilled within him the belief that good manners, tenacity, and sound discipline would help him to succeed. In Harnessing Anger, Westbrook summarized his mother’s philosophy: “And if we should survive the fight, we should get up and fight some more… I was raised militaristically.”
After graduating from St. Peter’s, Westbrook enrolled at the predominantly white Essex Catholic High School in 1967. Westbrook’s mother believed that enrolling her son in a private school would teach him self-discipline and keep him away from the violence of the streets. The school also offered an excellent fencing program. Raised in a family with a history of samurai warriors, Westbrook’s mother encouraged her son into contact with people who would expose him to a different world than the one he had been born into. Westbrook was immediately attracted to the sport and soon attended lessons willingly.
Under the guidance of Samuel D’ambola, Westbrook first began training with the sabre, the military sword favored by cavalry captains and pirates. Fighting came naturally to Westbrook, for in many ways it mirrored life on the streets. Moreover, as a minority student attending a predominantly white school, Westbrook struggled with his identity. In Harnessing Anger, he recalled the advice of his friends’, “Pete, don’t say you’re black, ’cause you’re not. Your mother is Japanese.” Becoming a successful fencer, however, “brought me a feeling of acceptance that I never had before.” During both his junior and senior years, Westbrook was selected as captain of the fencing team.
Although his mother strongly encouraged him to complete his college applications, Westbrook’s only interest during his senior year was to be the best high school fencer in New Jersey. However, New York University recognized his talents as a fencer and offered Westbrook a full scholarship, which he accepted. He initially enrolled in the School of Education because it had the easiest admissions process. Realizing that he was uncomfortable speaking in front of others, Westbrook decided to enter the School of Business instead. However, he ultimately discovered that teaching was much easier than communicating with business people.
Westbrook discovered that his impoverished background left him ill-prepared for the transition to college life. He lacked many of the social skills that others take for granted.
In 1972, at the suggestion of his college coaches, Westbrook began training with the Hungarian sabrist Csaba Elthes at the New York Fencers Club. Considered the best sabre coach in the United States, Elthes proved to be physically and emotionally abusive. Westbrook stopped training with Elthes after just one month at the club.
This negative experience did not diminish Westbrook’s love for fencing and he continued competing as a member of New York University’s fencing team. In 1973, Westbrook won the NCAA fencing championships and was considered the nation’s best college sabrist. One year later, he decided to train for the Olympic fencing team. He retained Csaba Elthes as his coach and began training with him seven days a week, five to six hours each day. Westbrook’s hard work paid off when he won the 1974 United States Fencing Association’s National Championship, becoming the first African American and one of the youngest competitors ever to win the tournament. He would eventually capture 13 national titles and become one of the most successful American sabrists of all time.
In 1976, Westbrook was named to the United States Olympic team and attended the Summer Olympics in Montreal. Four days before the fencing competition, he tore two ligaments in his left ankle. Despite the injury, Westbrook decided to compete and finished in 13th place.
Fencing had become a dominant force in Westbrook’s life. Although most of his energies were consumed by fencing, he supported himself by working as a computer salesman for IBM. Westbrook soon discovered that the discipline and concentration he developed as a fencer served him well in the business world.
Following stints with IBM and Pitney Bowes, Westbrook worked with North American Van Lines for 11 years, ultimately serving as marketing director.
Despite his career responsibilities, Westbrook continued to fence competitively and won several competitions. He was also named to the 1984 Olympic fencing team and won a bronze medal, becoming the first African American to win a fencing medal and the first American to win a fencing medal in 36 years. Westbrook also competed in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games and carried the American flag during the closing ceremonies of the 1992 Olympics. In 1994, he competed in the Pan American Games and carried the American flag during the opening ceremonies.
During his fencing career, it became clear to Westbrook that his experiences growing up in the projects and the unresolved anger that he harbored towards his abusive father provided him with ample energy to fence successfully. Rooted in the framework of the ghetto, he envisioned his opponents as his prisoners for life. Also, being successful in what has traditionally been considered a “white, elitist sport,” helped Westbrook to feel adequate and escape the insecurities and poverty of his childhood. Fencing also gave Westbrook opportunities to avoid many of the pitfalls that destroyed the lives of others.
In 1987, Westbrook began to channel his energies and the lessons he had learned into helping others. His friend, entrepreneur and businessman Tom Shepard, suggested that they organize a fencing clinic for inner-city children. Westbrook built upon the idea and, in February of 1991, the Peter Westbrook Foundation was launched at the New York Fencers Club in Manhattan. On opening day, only six children took part. One week later, however, 40 students participated and the numbers have continued to grow exponentially. In 1998, the Foundation hosted 80–100 students between the ages of nine and 17 every Saturday morning for three hours. All of the instructors are African American males, many of whom are Olympic medalists. The mission of Westbrook’s foundation is clear: the “Development of the Individual Through Fencing.” Westbrook hopes to use fencing to inspire his students to develop their bodies and minds and offer them an alternative to live on the streets.
Westbrook’s students are certainly passionate about fencing. As he noted in Harnessing Anger, “Since fencing is a combat sport, the transition from life to fencing is a very natural one for kids from this kind of background.” During the week Westbrook and his coaches work one-on-one with the most talented and dedicated students, refining their skills for competition at the highest levels. In 1996, two of his students made the under-17 and under-20 world championships teams. In January of 1997, one of his students placed first in the United States National Tournament. At the Junior World Championships in Valencia, Venezuela in May of 1998, six of the 28 United States representatives had trained at the Foundation, and Westbrook’s team boasted the only individual medalist. Many of his students have attended Ivy League schools on fencing scholarships.
Fencing offers Westbrook the opportunity to teach his students about winning and losing gracefully, managing stress, controlling emotions, and striving for excellence. “Excellence,” he repeatedly reminds his students, “is no accident.” Westbrook further realizes that his students must excel in school as well as in fencing. He holds his students to strict academic standards, even monitoring the report cards of his elite students. He also employs tutors, paying them to help his students with their homework. Westbrook also invites exemplary African Americans from the inner city to speak with his students and encourage them to excel. Ultimately, as his mother once desired, Westbrook hopes to use fencing as a gimmick to make his students more well-rounded, more productive members of society, and to make them feel special.
When not training students or soliciting funds, Westbrook travels throughout the country as a motivational speaker. He concentrates his efforts on preaching to troubled youth in schools, churches, and homeless shelters to inspire them to realize their full potential. His speeches generally focus on how all individuals are different and yet all similar in their struggles.
In 1997, Westbrook published his memoirs, Harnessing Anger: The Way of an American Fencer, written with Tej Hazarika, which describes his involvement in the sport of fencing.
Westbrook was 22 years old when he made his first appearance at the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976 as the team's youngest fencer. He also won gold medals at the Pan American Games in 1983 and 1995, silver medals in 1979 and 1987, and a bronze medal in 1975. A 6 Time Member of the U.S. Olympic Team, Westbrook was the 1984 Olympic Games Bronze Medalist in Men's Sabre and a 13 Time United States National Men's Sabre Champion.
Westbrook was inducted into the New York University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1985, the USFA Hall of Fame in 1996, and into the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 2002.
(To Peter Westbrook, "harnessing anger" means controlling ...)
Religion
Peter Westbrook is Roman Catholic.
Views
Peter Westbrook is a huge supporter of young athletes. He has created a foundation in order to support the youth, interested in sports. The Peter Westbrook Foundation was officially launched on a cold Saturday morning in February 1991 at the New York Fencers Club, which was located on West 71st Street in Manhattan. The Peter Westbrook Foundation is a 501(c)(3), a non-operating foundation that is dedicated to utilizing the sport of fencing as a vehicle to develop life skills in young people from underserved communities. With a specific focus on engaging New York City's low and moderate-income youth, Peter Westbrook Foundation teaches young people good sportsmanship in addition to developing their critical thinking skills, strengthening their self-confidence, encouraging the maintenance of an active and healthy lifestyle and supporting academic achievement. The Foundation has evolved from solely providing introductory fencing classes to offering academic enrichment and advanced fencing instruction for youth who demonstrate an exceptional talent for the sport.
Quotations:
"So much of our future lies in preserving our past."
"When I grew up, I didn't have a lot of role models. Kids need role models, you can't be what you can't see."
Membership
New York Fencing Club
Personality
Physical Characteristics:
Westbrook has a height of 5-8.5 (175 cm), and a weight of 161 lbs (73 kg). He also has dark brown eyes and greyish hair.
Interests
karate
Sport & Clubs
fencing
Athletes
Keeth Smart, Ivan Lee, Erinn Smart, Benjamin Bratton, Ibtihaj Muhammad
Connections
Westbrook now lives in Harlem with his wife Susann, and his step-son Dorian.
